Batman's Parents, or Robin's Daddy
by MildlyInsane
Summary: While walking in a bad neighborhood at night, Karen and Will get mugged by a violent, crazy man with a knife. Karen is scared to report their attacker to the police and Will feels responsible for the whole thing.
1. Chapter 1

**_Batman's Parents, or Robin's Daddy?_**

**Summary: While walking in a bad neighborhood at night, Karen and Will get mugged by a violent, crazy man with a knife. Karen is scared to report their attacker to the police and Will feels responsible for the whole thing.**

_**Oh boy. Here I go writing traumatic, violent fanfiction for sitcoms again!**_

****Chapter 1****

Karen groaned in dramatic exasperation as she walked down the sidewalk. It was well into the evening by now. The sun had set, all the normal people were inside or in cars, or at the very least on a better sidewalk than this one, and yet here she and Will were walking down the street like they were homeless.

The two of them were headed toward a building Karen owned, which was in the not-so-good part of town. They intended to get information on which aspects of the building needed to be brought up to code so none of the tenants ended up suing her. Karen didn't want to go alone, so she asked Will to come with her. He'd called a taxi, like an idiot, instead of letting her driver take them, and the taxi had broken down along the way - once they were already in the part of town most taxis were never called to and most who could afford a taxi had no reason to visit. The streets were basically deserted.

Karen had offered to call her driver to finish taking them to their destination, but Will had insisted that they walk. They were only four or five blocks away, and he figured they could get there faster by walking than by waiting on her driver or a taxi to meet them along the side of the road. He didn't care about the well being of her shoes as much as he cared about getting this done quickly, so she was being forced to walk down a sidewalk, like an animal or a poor person. He didn't even care when she reminded him people killed each other in this part of town. All the time. He claimed she was being dramatic, but she'd heard that it happened more than once.

"My feet hurt, Will." Karen complained as her heels clicked against the pavement while she practically ran to keep up with Will's larger stride. "You're going to fast and the sidewalk is so hard. I wouldn't have worn heels if I knew we were going to be walking this far."

"It's not that far. Three more blocks. It would be ridiculous to call a taxi, or your driver at this point. It'll take us two minutes, tops. We're almost there. Besides, you always wear heels, and you've never complained before." Will noted.

"I always wear heels because I don't ever walk this far." Karen grumbled as she slowed her pace. This was torture. The sidewalk wasn't even level in some spots. It looked like it had been the victim of an earthquake, and they didn't have have those around here! "Will you carry me?" She whined and pouted.

With a loud sigh, Will turned to face her. "Karen, come on. We're just a couple blocks away. Take off your shoes if they're hurting your feet that much."

Karen put her hand over her mouth and gasped. "My feet will absolutely not be subjected to such grotesque conditions!" If Will thought she'd be willing to place her nearly-bare feet on this dirty sidewalk, he didn't know her at all. He should have been surprised he even convinced her to let her poor shoes touch this filthy place.

"Just stop complaining." Will suggested. "You wanted to do this... If you're not up to it you could always just sell the building. Not that anyone's going to want it."

Karen was ready to ignore that suggestion and offer up another complaint when she felt someone grab onto her from behind, tugging hard at her arm and pulling her backward rather harshly.

With a surprised and pained wince, Karen twisted herself around, tripping out of her shoe which had nearly fallen off her foot as she was pulled back. She probably would have fallen to the ground if man's hands weren't still gripping her upper arms.

"Hey!" She pouted as she looked up at the man who had grabbed her. He seemed extra tall now that she'd lost one of her shoes and was standing about four inches shorter than usual. So much for keeping her stockings off the nasty, dirty ground.

Even though the guy was quite large and would have intimidated a normal person, Karen wasn't normal, and she didn't stand for people disrespecting her - no matter how big and imposing they were. This guy had no right to even look at her, much less grab onto her and pull her back like he had just done. Who the hell acted like that?

"Why don't you keep your grubby hands to yourself, Lurch?" She suggested with a frown and a harsh shove against the guy's chest.

Rather than apologizing or telling her he had mistaken her for someone else, the man grabbed onto her again. Gripping her upper arm with a hard, rough hand, he yanked her back until she stumbled out of her other shoe. He then pushed her rather painfully back up against the brick wall of the alley she now found herself in.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Will's shocked and angry voice shouted from the direction of the sidewalk. Karen heard his footfalls as he started making his way down the alley, but she couldn't see him. She could only see the chest of the bulky man who pinned her up against the wall.

"What's a pretty, classy little lady like you doing walking the streets in this part of town?" The man wondered with a smirk as he reached his hand up toward her cheek.

Karen flinched and swatted his hand away but remained silent as she stared up at him. She wasn't sure how to answer that question, nor did she think this man really cared to know what her business in the area was. She was also in a bit of shock that some strange brute had the audacity to put his hands on her, not once, but twice, and even after she'd yelled at him. She wasn't used to people not listening to her.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" The man laughed and gripped her tighter, leaning in close so that she could barely move beneath him.

Karen stared up into his eyes. Her first instinct was to be completely shocked, unable to move or speak. She wasn't quite back to the point of outrage just yet, but could feel it coming. She wanted to shrug out of his grip and go hide behind Will, but her captor held her tight, and she was honestly scared to look away - scared that if she stopped paying attention for even a moment, the guy would do something terrible to her. Of course he couldn't have had any good intentions behind grabbing a woman off the sidewalk and dragging her into an alley.

"Hey!" Will yelled again as he rushed up to Karen's side and grabbed at the guy's arm. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Back off." The guy growled, glancing toward Will for half a second and violently shrugging out of his grip before turning back to Karen. "Whatta you got in your bag, Sweetheart?" He practically grunted rather than speaking as he reached up toward the strap of her purse draped over her shoulder.

"No!" Karen called out immediately, reaching up and grabbing at the bag, refusing to give it up. She was not going to be robbed. Now now, not ever. Her money was hers. She'd earned it fair and square, through so much hard, tedious work of putting up with Stan. The bag itself was worth thousands of dollars too, and she certainly didn't want this gross creep touching it.

"Let go, bitch." The guy growled as he tugged harder on her purse.

"No!" Karen screamed, gripping the strap with both hands and pulling back.

"Karen, just let him have it!" Will interjected, sounding out of breath for someone who was just standing there.

"No!" Karen yelled again. "It's mine! Will, get him away from me!"

It wasn't until the guy took a knife out of his pocket that Karen's blood ran cold and she started second-guessing her choice of doing whatever it took to keep ahold of her bag. Maybe getting robbed wouldn't be that bad...

Before she knew what was happening, he had let go of the bag and put his arm across her collar, shoving her harshly back against the wall as he held the knife much too close to her neck for comfort.

Karen let out a soft whimper as she heard Will gasp from a few feet away. She pouted as she glanced toward her friend "Will!" She whispered in a tiny, shaking voice, hoping he'd know what to do here. She certainly didn't.

"Alright... Just calm down. You don't need a knife... We're not gonna do anything. You don't need that..." Will raised his hands up defensively. "Nobody needs to get hurt here."

"Stay back." The guy threatened Will as he pressed the knife closer to Karen's neck.

"Calm down, man..." Will's voice had an obvious edge to it as he attempted to diffuse the situation, but took a step backwards in an effort to honor the dangerous man's request. "Just take the bag... You can have my wallet... We're not going to fight you on it. Just calm down..."

Karen swallowed nervously as she stared up at man, unable to ignore the cool feeling of metal pressing up against the delicate skin of her throat. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she couldn't stop her lower lip from trembling, but she let go of the strap on her purse to let him take it. She cared about her possessions quite a bit... but they weren't worth her life.

"That's what I fucking thought." Her attacker growled as he shoved his hand harshly against Karen's collar bone, slamming her back against the brick wall of the alley so that she whimpered softly. He grabbed at her purse strap next, pulling the bag off of her arm with one hand while he kept the other firmly pressing the knife against her throat.

"Here." Will handed over his wallet without the guy even having to ask. "Just take it. We won't go to the cops or anything... so..." He trailed off.

The man with the knife scoffed softly as he ignored Will and handed Karen's bag back to her. "Take out all your cash." He instructed.

Karen swallowed and took her bag in shaking hands, pulling her wallet out of it and letting the purse fall down at her feet. She didn't even know if she had cash with her tonight. What was he going to do if she didn't?

"Hurry up!" He screamed as he put his hand on her upper arm and squeezed, pressing the knife threateningly close to her neck.

"I am..." Karen squeaked in a tiny voice, fumbling with the wallet with fingers she could barely even control at this point. She was so scared.

"Please don't hurt her..." Will breathed from somewhere off to the side. "We'll give you whatever you want. You don't need to hurt her."

"Will you shut the fuck up?" The man growled, squeezing Karen's arm even tighter, pressing the knife even closer. It kind of stung. She wasn't sure if that part was all in her head or not. She certainly hoped he hadn't cut her.

Karen's heart pounded as she finally managed to pull the zipper on her wallet completely open and slid her fingers inside, grabbing a small stack of bills and silently holding them out in front of her. She wasn't sure how much money she took out of the wallet, but it couldn't have been more than five or six bills. Even if they were hundreds, it wasn't much. Not enough to rob someone at knife-point over.

She let out a tiny, inadvertent gasp as he let go of her arm and grabbed roughly at her hand, snatching the money from her and looking at it briefly to get a good read on how much he'd managed to steal.

"Take his. Get the cash out of it." He said next nodding slightly toward Will but keeping his eyes on Karen.

"I can just get it-" Will offered, starting to open his wallet before the man turned toward him.

"Give the fucking wallet to her!" He demanded, shaking Karen slightly as he said it.

Karen hissed in a sharp breath as her captor slapped her wallet out of her hands. It hit the ground with a smacking sound. She felt like her vision was darkening around the edges and she wasn't even sure if her lungs were filling up with air. Her chest felt cold. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing, tried not to notice that she felt like she might pass out. What if this man didn't let them go? What if he wanted more than money? What if he cut her throat after? And then Will's? What if he killed Will and not Karen? And she was stuck with him alone...

"Karen..." Will's low voice brought her back to the present. She blinked her eyes open and stared at him. He had stepped right up to her and was pressing his wallet into her hands. He took a moment to squeeze both of her hands in his. "Just stay calm..." He whispered when she looked up into his eyes and found that he was staring intently back. He looked really scared. More scared than she'd ever seen him look before. "He just wants money... Just get the money out and give it to him, okay?"

She swallowed and nodded, unable to bring herself to speak as she held Will's wallet in her hands, for a moment forgetting that she was supposed to be doing something with it other than squeezing it in her grip.

With still-shaking hands, she opened his wallet and looked inside, finding where he kept his cash and pulling out a twenty, a five, and some amount of ones she couldn't manage to try to count while in a state of complete panic.

Karen squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shrink down when the robber grabbed the money in a fist and made a frustrated growling noise. She knew it wouldn't be enough. He'd probably seen Will and her and assumed they'd have tons of cash on them. Karen was very well-dressed. Will was somewhat well-dressed. They looked wealthy enough...

Now he was going to get mad that they hadn't had as much money as he thought they would. She didn't want to think about what he might do next, but she couldn't help it... Drag one of them to the ATM? Maybe send Will alone and keep Karen with him as a hostage? Maybe he'd just kill them both, right here, right now. Maybe he'd hold them both for ransom. Would Stan pay to get her back?

"That's it?" He growled, glancing toward Will before grabbing Karen's arm and pulling her slightly to the side. "You look like god damned Batman's parents, and you give me like less than four hundred fucking dollars?!" He screamed.

Karen winced and shrunk down. Some of the bills from her own wallet must have been fifties, maybe even a twenty or two. She couldn't do the math right now. Not with a knife pressing against her neck.

"You." Their attacker nodded toward Will again. "Get up against the wall. Face away from me. Face the wall."

Will nodded slightly and did as he was told, walking up toward the wall about four feet away from Karen and their attacker and standing there, facing the wall, but with his head slightly turned so that he and Karen made eye-contact with each other.

Karen couldn't bring herself to speak. She didn't know what she would have said even if she could, but for now, all she could manage were quick, panicked breaths as she stared through tears at Will. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to watch Will die. She didn't want to be hurt either. She didn't know what the man was going to do next, and didn't really want to know. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to be away from him, inside somewhere safe.

"Put your hands up against the wall. Like you're being arrested." The man ordered.

Karen looked away from Will and up at the stranger, for a minute unsure if he was talking to her. But he wasn't. He was looking at Will, who was now doing as ordered, placing his palms up against the wall as he continued staring intently at Karen.

"I gotta find some way to make this worth it." The man muttered, putting his hand on Karen's waist. "I'm not risking fucking prison for four hundred dollars. I need something more."

Karen frowned, finally finding her voice, though it was so tiny she could barely hear herself. "I can get you more from the ATM..." She whispered. At this point, she hoped that was all he wanted - money... His hand on her waist was certainly starting to scare her.

The man laughed. "You think I'm stupid?" He breathed, closing what was already a small distance between himself and her, pressing his body up against hers as he leaned down to be closer to eye-level with her. He was pretty tall, and she certainly wasn't. Especially not since he'd immediately pulled her out of her shoes as soon as he'd grabbed her off the street.

"You want me to go to a fucking ATM with you? Go stand in front of a fucking security camera?" He pressed his knife threateningly against her throat as he ran his other hand down over her thigh. "You think I'm fucking stupid..."

Karen winced and shrunk down. Yes, she thought he was stupid. He was robbing two people in the street, right here in the city, where people lived. Anyone could just go out on their fire escape and witness all of this. Someone may have already even called the cops.

"Is that it?" He growled, grabbing a fist of her skirt in his hand and sliding it up her thigh. "You think I'm that god damned dumb?"

Letting out a soft gasp, Karen grabbed desperately at her skirt, trying to keep it pulled down over her thigh. She shook her head. "No! Please don't..." She whispered, staring up into her attacker's eyes. He smirked slightly as he stared back, let out a small chuckle, and pushed the garment up further.

"You wouldn't have suggested the ATM unless you think I'm the biggest fucking idiot on earth." He accused, sliding his hand up under her skirt, all but ignoring her hands grabbing and desperately trying to push his off of her.

"She doesn't think you're stupid!" Will breathed, still standing where he'd been asked to, but looking like he was close to coming to Karen's aide. She didn't want him to though. There was a knife up against her throat. If Will tried anything, Karen was going to be the one to die. "She's just trying to figure out what you want from us, right, Karen? You said you wanted more... The ATM is where you'd go for more money... You could send her. I'll stay with you so she'll come back."

Karen glanced toward Will again. He looked scared, but also confused. He didn't know where the guy's other hand was. He didn't know about the silent threat only Karen could feel.

"Nah. She thinks I'm fuckin' dumb. Don't you, Babe?" He whispered, sliding his hand further up under her skirt. "You think you're gonna trick me into taking you to ATM so I'll be on camera."

"Please..." Karen whimpered, feeling herself trembling as she tried to shrink down away from his hands. He was holding her so tightly against the wall. She couldn't move. "I don't... I just don't know what you want! Please let me go!" She begged, grabbing harder at his arm and trying to shove his hand away from her leg.

"I'll go to the ATM!" Will offered. "Okay? I'll go get money. Bring it back to you... Or send just her. Keep me as insurance... Send her to get more money... I won't fight back... Just let her go. She'll bring the money back as long as you've got me."

Karen squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face away from Will. It seemed he couldn't tell exactly what was happening from Karen's perspective. Her attacker was pressed so close to her. Will surely couldn't see that the guy was sliding her skirt up on the other side. She kind of didn't want Will to see - didn't want him to know... It was shameful. He couldn't do anything about it anyway, not with the man still threatening to cut her throat the minute either she or Will tried anything.

"No one's going to the fucking ATM. You seriously think I'm fucking stupid, Girl?" The man all but screamed, completely ignoring Will's suggestion as he grabbed roughly at Karen's thigh, pushing his hard, groping hand further and further under her skirt.

"Yes!" She answered quickly, without giving herself a chance to choose to give him the answer he wanted to hear over the truth. "Probably..." She added in a small voice, wondering if she should keep explaining her reasoning. He certainly hadn't stopped when she didn't tell him she thought he was an idiot. "Y-you're robbing people in the middle of the street. You don't want to be on camera? Anyone could see-"

She was cut off when she felt a hard hand slam across the side of her face, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut, whimper, and raise her hands up in her own defense.

Karen could hear Will's voice pleading while she attempted to shrink down as much as possible. "What do you want?" He breathed, just as their attacker had yanked Karen's arm harshly upward, forcing her to stand back up straight.

She stared up at him, trying to keep her frantic breaths calm, forcing herself not to say anything more. He didn't like honesty... It had gotten his hand off her thigh, but he clearly didn't appreciate it. She didn't want him to hit her again.

"Just tell us what you want..." Will said again, in a low, measured voice.

Karen glanced over to him. He still had his hands up against the wall. She looked back at the man holding onto her. His knife was still right there, lower than before, but still there. Ready to kill her if he chose to.

Karen inhaled a sharp breath as he ran his knife slowly down her chest until he snagged it on her necklace. "This real?" He asked.

She inhaled a soft, small breath, staring up at him with a pout. She didn't want to give up her necklace, but then, she'd rather him take her jewelry than focus back on what he'd been doing before. There was no guarantee giving him the necklace would be enough though. Who said he was ever going to be satisfied?

He laughed then, nodding down toward her. "Take it off."

Karen glanced over toward Will, silently begging him to somehow solve this. She didn't want this creep to steal her jewelry. It was bad enough he'd taken her money, knocked her wallet onto the ground, scared her enough that she dropped her own bag. It was dirty now. Covered in random poor-neighborhood alley-grime.

"Just give him the necklace, Karen." Will ordered. "It's only a necklace..."

Karen frowned, but did as Will suggested. He was right... Maybe this would be the last thing. Maybe the guy would leave after taking it. She unclasped it and held it out in front of herself and he quickly grabbed it out of her hand and stuffed it roughly into his pocket.

Karen couldn't help but to grimace as she observed him handling the necklace with so little care, but was quick to stop caring how he was treating the necklace when she felt his hand crudely grab at her chest. "These real?" He laughed, squeezing a hand around one of her breasts.

"Hey!" Karen shrieked, slapping his hand before she could remember that the guy had an actual knife pointed at her throat. "How dare you!? Get your dirty mitts-"

She stopped herself in mid-sentence when she saw how angry he looked as he stared down at her. He grabbed roughly at her chest again, squeezing harshly at her breast with one hand, and pressing the knife threateningly against her neck with the other.

"You stupid fucking bitch." He growled, squeezing his hand again before grabbing at the front of her shirt and viciously tugging it downward, no doubt trying to expose her chest.

"Stop!" Karen sobbed. She grabbed up at her shirt with her own hands, trying to keep it in place as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Get off of her!" Will's voice demanded. He sounded more angry than scared now, and it didn't take long for Karen to get a first-hand demonstration of just how angry he was. In half a second, he had abandoned his post against the wall and had lunged at the man so roughly groping at Karen's chest. He easily knocked the guy back away from her, fortunately not resulting in her throat being cut.

"Will!" Karen gasped, feeling herself shaking as she took a step back, but also felt tempted to rush forward and help him.

Will had pushed the guy away, but now it looked like they were going to physically fight in order to end this. The stranger had one hand in a fist and the other still gripped around his knife. It wasn't a fair fight. Will wasn't going to win. He didn't have a weapon.

"You should just leave, man..." Will breathed, holding his fists up as though he actually knew how to fight. Hopefully this guy didn't know that Will was all talk. He seemed utterly pissed off, but Karen could detect a hint of fear in his tone and features. "Get out of here before you get hurt." Will threatened. "Someone will have heard all this..." Will added after a pause. "You're pressing your luck."

Karen stared back and forth between the two of them, breathing quick, shallow breaths as she backed herself up against the wall.

"I'll fuckin' find you again. Both of you. You better not go to the cops if you don't want me coming back." The man growled, but took a step away from Will. Maybe he was scared to test Will's strength. Maybe he worried that someone really did hear all the commotion - or see it. "I recognize you, lady." He nodded toward Karen, taking a step toward her so that she flinched and shrunk back. "Don't come after me. Don't send anyone else after me. Don't tell anybody about any of this. I fuckin' recognize you." He pointed directly at her with his knife, then turn and ran.

Karen felt a gasp stuck in her throat as she stared after him. He recognized her? From where? Was he just trying to scare her? Did he know who she was? Would he really come back.

She whimpered as she looked down at herself. Her skirt was still pushed up part way over her thigh. Her shirt had a tear in it over her breasts where he had tugged the garment so harshly downward. Her tights were torn on her thigh where the skirt was pulled up. When had that happened?

Without thinking, she screamed and shrunk down when she felt a hand on her arm. She didn't realize it was Will until he started speaking.

"Karen! It's me... It's just me.. Are you okay?" He asked. "Are you hurt?"

She blinked a few times, turning and looking up at him. She felt so out of breath. She hadn't really had to fight with the guy too much. She hadn't been running or anything... Why was she so out of breath? Was she panicking?

Karen felt her breaths growing even more frantic. The more she thought about this, the tighter her chest felt. That guy had a knife. He'd pressed it up against her neck. He could have cut her throat. Did he cut her at all? She remembered a spot on her neck stinging when he'd pressed the knife harder against her skin.

She reached her hand up toward her throat and ran her fingertips over the spot where the knife had been. Sure enough, something slightly sticky, but also a bit dry scratched her fingertips. She pressed down with two fingertips and then moved her hand out in front of her, staring down at it, taking note of the tiny spot of bright red liquid and several specks of dried red. That son of a bitch actually cut her. Not much. She'd know if he cut her deep, right?

"Karen?" Will's hands were both on her arms now and he was leaning down closer to see her better. He seemed really tall, because the guy with a knife had dragged Karen so roughly off the sidewalk that she'd fallen out of one shoe, then the other. Karen didn't like feeling small. But she felt small now.

"You okay, Hun?" Will leaned in even closer, finally glancing at Karen's hand, which she held up between them. He must have noticed the small bit of blood on her fingertips. He took her hand carefully in his and closed her fingers so she couldn't see the red smudges on the tips of them anymore. "You're alright. That's a really shallow cut... More of a scratch, if I'm being honest. Don't be scared. You're not hurt, Karen. Not in a serious way. You're going to be alright."

Karen felt her lip trembling as tears filled her eyes again. Her attacker had been so strong. What if he had tried to fight Will? What if he hadn't gotten scared? He had a knife. He could have stabbed her friend. He could have killed him. What would she have done? If the guy stabbed Will to death? He wouldn't have just walked away after. He'd have probably killed Karen too - and if not, he'd have done something worse.

Will was still talking to her, but Karen couldn't focus on what he was saying. They'd just gotten robbed... pretty violently and threateningly too. The robber cut her neck... with a knife! He had looked more than ready to physically fight Will too. It was a miracle they weren't both lying in the alley dead at this point.

She felt Will's hands on her arm, keeping her feeling somewhat grounded, but she still couldn't bring herself to listen to whatever it was he was trying to say. The guy who had attacked them was going to do more than just steal from them. He had run his hand up under her skirt, grabbed at her breast... He was mad too... Squeezing, groping... leaning in so close, breathing so heavily on her. What if Will hadn't been there? What if the guy had chosen to stab Will? Will would have died, and Karen would have been left alone with the guy. Maybe he wouldn't have killed her... Not immediately.

Karen shuddered and closed her eyes. She couldn't stop him. She tried to get him off of her, but she couldn't. He was too strong. If she'd been on her own, he wouldn't have stopped. She had stopped him the first time, by getting him to focus on hitting her instead of pushing his hand up under her skirt, but that wouldn't have worked forever. If Will hadn't been there, no one would have stopped him from doing whatever he wanted.

"Karen..." Will's voice sounded increasingly worried, but still somehow masked, like Karen's ears had cotton stuck in them, like her whole head was in a fog. "You okay? Karen?"

She still couldn't bring herself to answer. Was she okay? The guy had cut her. Not badly... That's what Will said, that it was more of a scratch... But he did it with a knife. He pressed an actual knife against her neck, and drew blood... A knife that could have killed her. He grabbed her, shoved her against the wall, hit her... Took her necklace and her money. He tried to remove her clothing - to an extent... His hands were all over her, on her thigh, her breast...

"I'm gonna call the police." Will exhaled, reaching down toward his pocket.

"What?" Karen gasped, blinking and shaking her head, trying to focus on Will.

"I'm calling the cops." He repeated, stuffing his hand into his pants pocket and grabbing his phone.

"Will no!" Karen screamed, finally blinking the rest of the fog out of her head, grabbing at his arm with both hands and pulling back. "You can't!"

"What? Of course I can. I have to. That guy just robbed us... With a knife!" Will reminded her. "We've got to go to the cops. That's what normal people do after something like this happens."

"He said not to... He said he recognized me..." Karen whimpered.

Will's shoulders slumped. "He's trying to scare you, Karen, so he doesn't get held accountable for this. We have to call the police." He shook his head and took his phone out from his pocket.

Karen stared at the phone in his hands. She couldn't let him involve the police. The guy specifically said he'd come back if they did.

"No!" Karen suddenly heard herself scream as she reached out and slammed the phone out of Will's hand. Before she could think better of it, she reached down, picked it up, and threw it against the wall of the alley. Pieces of it flew different directions as it hit the wall and fell to the ground with two loud cracks. "No, Will..." She gasped, shaking her head. "You can't..."

Will stared at her with his mouth literally hanging open. He seemed at a loss for words, but after a few long seconds, he blinked, shook his head, exhaled loudly, and took a step toward her.

"Will, don't!" Karen took a step back, bumping against the alley's wall as she stared up at Will with wide eyes. "I'll buy you a new phone! I'm sorry! Just don't-"

"Don't what?" Will's stare softened as he stood in front of her, looking honestly quite lost. He had tears in his eyes. He was perhaps just as upset about this as she was... But he couldn't call the cops. She just couldn't let him.

Karen swallowed and shook her head as she stared back at him. "I don't know..." She squeaked, feeling her lip tremble and seeing her vision cloud with tears. She didn't know what she thought he was going to do when he took that angry, glaring step toward her. Maybe yell at her. Maybe hit her. He wouldn't. She knew he wouldn't, but for a moment, after she'd broken his phone, after she knew she had just done something that would logically make him really mad, she honestly didn't know what she thought he might do in response.

"I'm not gonna do anything to you, Karen... You know that. I just..." Will trailed off, closing his eyes and exhaling.

"I'm sorry, Will..." Karen squeaked, feeling tears stinging her eyes. "I-"

"It's okay." Will stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

Karen could't hold back a tiny, shaking sob as she buried her face in Will's shoulder. She wished she hadn't broken his phone. She shouldn't have done that... But she was so scared. That man said he knew her... that he'd come back if they went to the police... She didn't know what else to do.

"Karen, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Will asked. She'd never actually answered him when he asked before.

Sniffing back tears, Karen shook her head. "I'm not hurt... I'm okay. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." He answered, rubbing his hand softly over her back.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel safe in Will's arms, even though she probably shouldn't have let her guard down. They were still out on the street, in a dirty alley. The same man could come back and kill them right now. A different freak could jump out and attack them. Even so, she felt like maybe just being with Will might keep anything like that away. He scared this guy away. Karen couldn't mange that, but Will did.

Will exhaled softly. "Let's get inside. Then we can decide what to do."

"Inside where?" Karen sniffed, pulling out of his embrace and looking around the dark, dingy alley.

"Where we were going before. The run down building you own. You've got the key. We can lock ourselves in there, decide if we should call the police... Just so we're inside." Will explained.

Karen nodded. "Okay." She agreed, grabbing Will's hand and letting him lead her out of the alley and toward the sidewalk.

**xxxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**_xxxxxx_**

**Chapter 2**

**xxxxxx**

Will squeezed Karen's hand in his own as he led her down the sidewalk and toward the building they'd been trying to reach before. He had gotten her to agree to just go inside so they could discuss what to do next. She didn't want to call the police, but Will figured he might be able to convince her. He had to. She really wasn't being rational about it. Obviously if she was scared the man might return for her, she should want him locked up rather than free... But she didn't see it that way. He did at least convince her to go with him though - maybe they wouldn't call the police, but they'd at least go inside.

After she had agreed to go with him and had grabbed his hand in a death-grip, Will had collected her shoes, purse, and both of their wallets off the ground, as she seemed like she didn't even remember they were there. Now they were finishing their delayed trek to the apartment building.

"You want to put your shoes back on, Karen?" Will asked again. He'd suggested it a few moments before, but she seemed very caught up in her own thoughts. He couldn't blame her. He had been terrified too, and he wasn't even the one with a knife pressed up against his neck and a creepy bastard groping all over him.

When she didn't answer, Will glanced down at her. She was staring silently at the ground and looked like her mind was a mile away as she gripped his hand tightly and followed along beside him. He frowned. She looked so sad.

With a soft exhale, Will looked ahead and tried to pick up his pace. They were almost there, and he hoped once they were inside, Karen would calm down a bit more. She was quite obviously very shaken, and it was up to Will to make sure she felt safe and secure enough to agree to alert the police about what had happened.

They couldn't let this guy get away with what he'd done. Maybe if he just took their money... but it wasn't just that. He'd threatened Karen with a knife. He actually cut her with it - not deep, but it was still a cut. The man had pressed a knife up against her throat hard enough to draw blood... Then he hit her, grabbed at her chest, told her that he knew who she was and that he'd come back... They had to get him off the streets. If Karen was scared to report him, surely she was just as scared not to. What would stop the guy from coming back anyway even if she did keep quiet?

"Do you have keys to the individual apartments?" Will asked as they reached the front entrance to the apartment building they were previously planning to inspect for possible violations.

Karen leaned against Will and hugged his arm, but ignored his question.

"Karen." Will spoke a bit louder, turning toward her. "Keys? Do you have keys to the individual apartments. There's not like a lobby or anything in there. Looks like just a hallway and stairs."

"What's that, Honey?" Karen blinked a few times and forced a smile as she looked up at Will.

He exhaled. He hoped that very insincere smile wasn't an indication that Karen was going to push this down and pretend it hadn't happened. They needed to deal with this - in a way that was real - with the cops. "Do you have keys to the apartments, Karen?" He spoke in slow, calm words. "I'd like to go into a vacant one so we're not stuck in a hallway."

"Oh..." She laughed softly. "Um... None of the doors lock, so..."

Will felt his shoulders slump. "Karen, people live here..." He frowned. It was the middle of the city... And the apartment building she owned, which she accepted money from its tenants... didn't even have functioning locks on the doors?

"Not that many." She pouted, shrinking down slightly. "Entire floors are vacant. That's why I'm not putting money into it."

Shaking his head, Will started back toward the building, noticing Karen grabbed his arm again, holding on as though afraid she'd lose track of him otherwise. "Which one is the nearest vacant one?" He asked, wondering why Karen had even bothered claiming to have brought keys to this place when even the front door was unlocked.

Karen nodded to the very first door, 1A. "I've got two bachelors living on the second floor, and I think homeless people took over the third." She informed him.

Will raised his eyebrows. "Thought you didn't like the homeless." He noted.

Karen shrugged a shoulder. "I don't... But they've got nowhere else to go..." She whispered.

Will felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. For all the times Karen had seemed so stone-cold hearted that it terrified him, she had these tiny moments of humanity that he really appreciated. So many building owners wouldn't tolerate the homeless using their space, even if no one else was... and yet Karen Walker was the one to allow it. He wouldn't have ever guessed.

He led the way into a small apartment, which fortunately had a working light switch, which he flipped on as soon as they had entered.

"You sure no one lives here?" Will frowned. It looked horrible, but there was indeed an old, dirty couch in the middle of the room. It looked unlivable to him, but Will knew people less fortunate sometimes had to settle for conditions like this, or live on the streets.

"Nobody lives here. We put furniture into a lot of the apartments way back when... We tried to make them nice enough for the lower class... It just didn't last. People got too needy, gas leaked, asbestos came out... It just didn't work. Some of the furniture got left behind." Karen shrugged, making her way over toward a counter separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. She hoisted herself up onto it and stared across the room at Will, silently waiting for him to decide what to do next.

"Well... I guess we need to phone the police." Will finally said it. They had to. It wasn't going to be fun. Talking to the police was never fun... Unless they were young, attractive, and gay... but they had to. They had to get this guy in trouble for what he'd done.

Karen stared back with wide, frightened eyes, shaking her head.

"Karen, we have to. We've got to report this." Will frowned.

Karen stuck out her lower lip. "I'm trying, Will." She spoke in a tiny voice, looking down at her feet dangling over the counter she was sitting on. "Where are my shoes?" She whispered.

Will ignored her question. "You're trying what? This guy attacked you... Stole from you, threatened you. He could have killed both of us."

"Oh..." Karen's shoulders slumped as she blinked. "I thought you were calling the police on me..." She let out a soft, nervous laugh.

"What?" Will frowned.

"For... the building..." Karen shrunk down, looking at her feet again. Her tights were torn in several places and the bottoms of her feet were pretty dirty, since she hadn't seemed to notice or care about her lack of shoes until right now.

Will shook his head. "Do you have a phone with you? In your bag?" He asked, opening the bag he had been carrying on his arm and peering inside.

"Will, please don't call..." Karen spoke in a tiny voice, holding her hands together like she was praying, but didn't move to physically stop him this time. She continued staring down, avoiding eye contact with Will as her lower lip trembled.

With a frown, Will took Karen's phone out of her bag, walked over to the counter she was sitting on, and placed it next to her. He hoped he could get her on the same page as him before calling. Calling the police if Karen was completely apprehensive about it might result in her refusing to talk to them. They needed to both be honest about everything that had happened.

Karen glanced at the phone next to her on the counter, but still wouldn't look up to meet Will's gaze until he took her hands in his. "He said he'd come back..." She whispered. "Will, he was really mean..."

"I know." Will forced a tight smile, squeezing Karen's hands lightly in his own.

"I was really scared..." Karen looked down.

"I know. Me too." Will agreed. "Which is why we need to tell the cops. You can't count on this guy telling the truth. You can't count on him leaving us alone just because we didn't call the cops. Maybe not telling, not getting him in trouble would be an invitation for him to come back and rob us again. If he knows we won't do anything about it, why wouldn't he?"

Karen frowned and looked back up to meet Will's eyes. Hers were wide, and shone with unshed tears. She looked really scared - more scared than he'd ever seen her before - more scared even than when the man in the alley had a knife pressed up to her throat. Maybe just knowing he might do it again was enough to bring all those emotions back.

Will shook his head. He hadn't meant to scare her further, to make things worse... He just wanted her to take this seriously and not just brush it off and ignore it. "He probably doesn't even really know who you are, Karen. He took your money, not your ID. He doesn't know us... What are the chances? We just need to talk to the cops... Whether he threatened us or not, he needs to be held accountable."

Karen bit her lower lip and nodded slightly, obviously agreeing that the thought of letting this guy get away with this, leaving him free to do something like this again wasn't a great idea.

"So will you talk to the cops, Karen? I can call them, have them come here... I won't leave. I'll be right here with you." He promised. "I've got to talk to them too. We'll do the whole thing together."

Karen swallowed. "Can we go home after?" She asked in a tiny voice.

"I don't see why not." Will agreed.

"Okay..." She whispered.

Will smiled, squeezed her hand in his, and reached out for her phone. "We'll get this all sorted out, Karen." He promised.

**xxxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**xxxxxx**

**Chapter 3**

**xxxxxx**

"What's taking them so long?" Will exhaled as he looked down at his watch for probably the twentieth time. "I called like a half an hour ago..." He glared at the closed door. "Do you think I should go outside and wait there? Maybe they don't know which apartment-"

"No. It's not that, Will. They'll get here... You know how it is. It's a poor neighborhood." She shrugged.

Will frowned. "Wow... That's messed up."

"That's life." Karen shrugged. "Not mine... Well, I guess it is tonight." She laughed. "Do you think this couch is gonna give us hepatitis?" She furrowed her brow and looked down at the cushions. Since it was the only piece of furniture in the house and they were both pretty exhausted, they'd decided to sit down on it while they waited for the police... Even though it was scuffed up, dusty, and indeed quite disgusting.

Will let out a soft laugh. "Too late now."

Karen nodded and laid her head against Will's shoulder. "Well, there's a cure for that." She yawned. "Won't be the first time, won't be the last."

Will forced another laugh, but quickly let a frown settle back in. He never could tell with Karen when she was being serious and when she wasn't. It all looked the same to him. If someone took her seriously, they'd end up quite concerned for both her well-being and that of everyone around her.

He wondered how often he or Grace or Jack didn't take her seriously when they should have though. She was so confusing. It was easy to laugh off just about anything she said since she was so often joking or just making no sense at all.

He wondered what would have happened if Karen had been alone tonight. That man could have really hurt her. He took her money, her necklace... and it still wasn't enough.

It seemed like he had only given up and got scared away when Will stepped in, physically pulled him off of her, and threatened to fight him. Will was a lot taller than Karen - a lot more imposing. Karen - even if she were really mad and threatened to punch the guy's lights out - just wouldn't have had the same affect. Their attacker wouldn't have stopped if Will hadn't made him.

So what would he have done? Unless Karen screamed and a random passerby happened to hear and come to her aide, he would have had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted...

Of course, she wouldn't have walked out on the sidewalk in this part of town if she were alone. That was all Will's fault. None of this would have happened if he took Karen seriously when she said she was scared to walk. He just assumed she was being her usual self - acting like using a sidewalk with beneath her, pretending to legitimately fear people who weren't rich or dress to her tastes. She said she was scared, and he brushed it off, like he did with most of the things she said.

He glanced down at her again, leaning against him with her eyes closed, hugging his arm loosely. She seemed to have fallen asleep.

Maybe all this was a sign that Will needed to take her more seriously. It seemed insane to do... but she didn't want to walk to their destination tonight. She said it was dangerous. She was right. It was Will's fault that they had put themselves in a position to be robbed - in a position for that man to threaten Karen with a knife, to put his hands on her... Will had been the one to put a stop to that, to finally get him away from his friend... but she wouldn't have even been out there if not for Will.

Will glanced up at the door with raised eyebrows when he heard a knock. For a moment, he'd forgotten that they were waiting for the cops, but he quickly remembered.

"Come in." He called, reaching over and shaking Karen's shoulder gently. "Karen-"

He was cut off with a soft gasp coming from his own mouth when he looked back toward the door and saw that it was the man from before entering the room... the man from the alley.

Karen must have noticed at the same time, because she made a small whimpering noise before grabbing tighter onto Will's arm and shrinking down into the couch cushions, trying to hide behind him.

Will scowled up at the man, scooting forward and allowing Karen to hide behind him as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. "You need to leave." He growled. How did this guy find them? They didn't even live here... He must have watched them after they thought he left. Maybe he saw them go into the building. Maybe he saw the light flip on right after they entered... Or maybe he was just going to check each of the apartments until he found them.

"You guys call the cops?" The guy asked, looking and sounding extremely agitated.

Will swallowed as he looked the man up and down. He still had the knife from before, and he looked really, really on-edge. "No..." Will lied. "We didn't... Just like you said. So leave."

"You live here?" The guy frowned, looking around the room. "This place is a hell-hole... You had almost four hundred dollars in your bag." He nodded toward Karen with narrowed eyes.

Will shook his head. "No. We don't live here. We just came inside... It's basically an abandoned building. Looked like it might rain, so..." Will trailed off, not wanting to tell this guy that Karen owned the building. He didn't need to know she had even more money than he probably could have guessed.

"Alright..." The man looked nervously around again. Will noticed his knuckles were white as he gripped his knife tighter and tighter. "You go to the ATM and get me more money... I'll stay with her. Get me a thousand, from each of your bank accounts - or whatever your withdrawal limits are. At least a thousand each."

Karen had stood up at some point, but was still hiding behind Will, and gripping his arm in tight fists. "No, Will..." She whispered in a tiny voice. "Don't leave me here with him..."

"I won't." Will whispered back. Of course he wouldn't.

"What's that?" The stranger laughed, taking a step forward so that Karen tensed beside Will, positioning herself even further behind him.

"We're not doing that." Will stared, feeling fresh anger bubbling up in his chest. How stupid was this guy to attack the same people twice, within a single hour? Of course they called the police. This guy had to be positively moronic to believe they wouldn't.

"You need to leave." Will demanded. "This is over. We won't call the police if you leave now. You told us not to. We didn't. So go... Or we'll call the police this time. If you don't want to go to jail, you need to go."

The stranger laughed. His eyes looked so wild. Will wondered if he had taken some kind of drug between the last time they'd seen him and now. If he did, it certainly wasn't anything to calm him down at all.

Will flinched and Karen screamed as the man jerked forward unexpectedly, swinging the knife through the air. He wasn't even close to touching either of them, but it was still startling. It didn't matter too much that Will and Karen out-numbered this guy... He had a knife and was waving it around wildly. Will really didn't want either himself or Karen to get injured if he could avoid it.

"You guys serious?" The man breathed, sounding and looking increasingly irate. "You're not gonna play nice?"

Will shook his head. "No. We're not. If you want someone easy, you're gonna have to look somewhere else."

"Really... You wanna make this difficult?" He laughed. "I brought something then..." The man reached into his pocket, pulling out a rather thin rope balled up in his fist. He threw it toward Will's chest. It hit him, then fell down to the floor.

Will glared back up at him. No way. Neither of them was going to be tied up. There was no way that could end in anything other than pain and/or death.

"Tie your hands up. Over there." The guy nodded toward a radiator across the room.

Karen squeezed Will's arm, but didn't say anything. Will wasn't even sure which of them the guy wanted tied up... But he wasn't doing it either way.

"Alright. Listen up." The guy spoke more slowly, staring with wide, crazy eyes at Will and gripping his knife in a tight fist. His breaths were quick and angry. He was glaring, clearly getting fed up with their lack of cooperation. "You." He pointed at Will with the knife. "Tie your hands up to the heater. Or... I'll fucking stab you to death."

Will swallowed nervously and took a step back as he felt Karen's hands squeeze his arm. He reached over and put his hand on hers, squeezing it lightly back. "We're not doing that." He said again, his voice low and serious. "Leave."

The stranger let out a startling laugh as he took another quick step forward, bringing his knife up into view. "Maybe you think I couldn't kill you both. Maybe you think I'm not capable..." He started. "I guess we'll find out... Hell of a risk, but okay..."

Will shook his head and inhaled a breath. "What do you want? What are you going to do? Why do I need to be tied up?" He frowned. He really didn't want to have to fight this guy off while he swung a knife at them. He hoped to just talk him down instead. Sure, there were two of them, one of him... But that didn't mean they'd be able to fight the guy off without sustaining any serious injuries.

The man laughed. "I'm taking her to the ATM." He nodded toward Karen. "You stay here, so she has incentive not to run or make a scene. That's simple enough, right? Tie yourself to the fuckin' thing." He nodded toward the radiator. "And we'll be right back."

Will shook his head again. He couldn't let this man take Karen alone anywhere. Not after what he had seen him do before. "Leave her here. Take me to the ATM." He suggested.

"No. You've got one more chance before I start stabbing." The man set his mouth in a tight line and stared with raised eyebrows back at Will.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Will glanced toward Karen, who stuck her lip out in a pout and shrugged slightly, silently telling Will she wasn't sure what they should do either.

"Alright." Their attacker laughed stepping quickly forward.

"No!" Karen shrieked, grabbing Will's arm and pulling him back. "He'll do it..." She gasped. "I'll go to the ATM..."

"That's all I wanted." The robber laughed. "Tie him up tight." He nodded toward the rope on the floor.

Will felt his shoulders slump, but he didn't really have room to argue. One or both of them were going to end up dead if they didn't do as this guy asked... And maybe if they just tried to do things slowly, the cops would arrive to save them. They were due to arrive any time now... Unless they'd completely forgotten Will called in the first place, which was beginning to look like a real possibility.

Will maneuvered himself toward the radiator, sitting down beside it and raising his hands up so Karen could tie them as she was ordered to. "Go slow." He whispered in the smallest voice he could manage. "We just have to survive long enough, okay? The police are gonna get here..."

Karen nodded very slightly, clearly understanding exactly what he was suggesting. Her hands trembled as she tied the ropes rather loosely around his wrists, no doubt purposefully leaving him room to easily escape. Unfortunately, their captor noticed.

"Tight." He growled. "He gets loose and somebody's dying. You understand?"

Karen glanced over her shoulder at him, likely noticing his knife was still right there, ready to do some damage if he chose to use it that way. She looked back toward Will with a frown. "I'm sorry..." She whispered in a tiny voice. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"It's okay..." Will breathed. "We'll be okay..." He didn't know if that was true, but it wasn't Karen's fault at any rate. He grimaced slightly as Karen tightened the ropes as much as it seemed she could.

"Go sit on the couch while I check these." The man instructed.

Karen did as she was told, sniffing back tears as she sat down and avoided making eye contact with Will. She wrapped her arms around herself, shrunk down, making herself small, and stared down at the floor. Of course, this was one of the last things they wanted to happen, for this guy to come back and force them both into a situation like this... again.

The man squatted down in front of Will, placed his knife on the floor, and reached up toward Will's hands, pulling the ropes tight enough to make Will wince, then wrapping them around his wrists once more and tying them again.

Once he was satisfied that Will was secured, he stood up with a smirk, grabbing his knife on his way and pacing back toward the couch. "Alright, Sweetheart. Now that that's settled..."

Karen swallowed and moved to stand, but as soon as she was mostly up, their captor shoved her back down rather harshly. Karen whimpered as she fell back against the couch and as Will's blood ran cold.

"Maybe you should have just gone to the ATM like I asked, Huh?" The guy laughed as he glanced toward Will. He shoved Karen down further, climbing on top of her and holding her down by her wrists.

"No!" Karen screamed, thrashing under him. "Stop!"

"Get off of her!" Will demanded, pulling uselessly at his trapped arms. The ropes were so tight. Struggling only caused them to cut painfully into his wrists... but he couldn't stop himself from continuing to try. "Don't you dare! Don't touch her!" He screamed, growling in frustration as he continued tugging painfully and uselessly at his wrists.

"Get off of me!" Karen sobbed as her attacker pinned both wrists down with one hand and laughed as he moved his now-free hand down toward her chest. "Please! I did what you asked! Please!" She sobbed.

Will's heart pounded in his chest as he pulled and pulled at his wrists, causing more and more pain. He didn't know what to do... Screaming wasn't helping. Karen's phone was still on the counter where he'd left it - and clearly calling the police again wasn't going to be a quick answer to this anyway. He had to do something, but didn't know what he could do...

**xxxxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**xxxxxx**

**Chapter 4**

**xxxxxx**

Karen squeezed her eyes shut and let out a shaking, frustrated sob as she felt her attacker's hands crushing painfully against her skin. Her wrists were both in one of his hard, huge hands, pressed painfully down against the scratchy fibers of the couch cushion. His other hand pawed roughly at one of her breasts, groping and squeezing so hard she wondered if he was trying to break her ribs.

"Please stop!" She choked in a pained gasp as each of his movement caused sharp pains to radiate from under his hands. "Ow!" She whimpered.

"Hey!" Will's voice called from near the wall. Karen couldn't bring herself to open her eyes to look at him. She didn't want to see anyone or anything. She just wanted this rough, violent brute to get the hell off of her and leave forever. "Get off of her! Let her go! Don't you dare touch her!"

"You and your boyfriend don't have enough fear. Not enough respect... Somebody with a knife tells you to do something, you do it." Her attacker growled as he leaned down close, squeezing both of his hands.

Karen whimpered and tried to shrink down. He was being so rough. Her wrists throbbed and she felt like she was going to have finger-shaped bruises on her breast if she survived this. "Don't!" She begged in a shaking voice. "You're hurting me!"

"I don't care, Babe." He laughed, squeezing both of his hands even harder so that she let out a sharp wince.

Will was still yelling, begging, pleading, demanding... She didn't know what exactly he was saying. She couldn't focus on his individual words. She just heard his voice, a low background noise behind the loudness that was her own fear filling her mind. She could only focus on her own physical self... On the fact that her attacker was still squeezing her breast, putting his weight on top of her as he did so, crushing against her chest, hurting her.

"Please..." She whimpered again, trying to move out from under him. He was so heavy, so forceful. "We did what you said... I can get you more money. I have more jewelry."

"Shhh..." He cooed, moving his hand down her breast and stomach, only to shove it back upward, under her shirt this time. "This is all I wanted before. You didn't have enough money. I was just gonna do this. It doesn't have to be rough. Just calm down. Lay still, let me do this, and you won't get hurt."

"No! Stop..." Karen cried, pulling hard at her trapped arms. "I'll get you more money instead! Please!" She could still hear Will's raised voice, but still couldn't focus on whatever it was he was saying. Why didn't anyone in this building hear any of this. "Help me!" She screamed. "Heeelllp!" She screamed again, and again, soon allowing her words to dissolve into simply loud, shrill, shrieks until her captor slammed his hand over her mouth and leaned down close.

"Shut up. Both of you!" He added, turning toward Will. "Shut the hell up. I'll hurt you." He threatened, leaning back down toward Karen. "Don't think I won't. I will really, really fucking hurt you. And I'll kill him. You keep screaming, and I'll go over there and cut his fucking throat."

Karen winced under his hand. She tried to shake her head no. She felt tears filling her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"You gonna stay quiet?" He asked. "You too?" He yelled over toward Will.

"Only if you let her go..." Will breathed, clearly angry.

"Huh... Fine." Their attacker laughed, moving his hand off Karen's mouth and grabbing at her thigh, shoving her skirt up her leg. "Scream all you fucking want then."

"No! Stop!" Karen begged, trying to thrash under him as he ran his hand up her thigh, under her skirt. "Please! Please stop!" She gasped.

He shook his head and laughed, grabbing at the top of her tights and yanking them down her thighs. "I don't know why women wear these fucking things. They seem like they'd be so uncomfortable." He noted.

"Don't!" She sobbed, pulling at her wrists again and trying to roll her body away from his hands. She could barely move.

"I won't take long, Babe. I'll be careful too." He promised. "If you stop being a bitch, that is."

"Please..." Karen gasped, feeling more and more desperate as he slid her tights further down her legs. What was she going to do? How could she stop this? Begging, screaming... just doing what he said. None of it was working.

She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his hand run back up her thigh reaching toward her panties next. "We called the cops!" Karen gasped, her voice and body shaking.

"What?" Her attacker finally paused.

Karen blinked her eyes open and stared up at him, breathing in short, shaking breaths. Finally, everyone in the room was silent. She could only hear her own trembling breaths as she stared up into really, really angry eyes.

"What the fuck did you just say?" He asked again.

Karen swallowed. "We called the cops... They're gonna be here any minute... So you should leave..."

"I don't believe that..." He glared, sliding his hand up her thigh and grabbing a fist of her underwear.

Karen squeezed her eyes shut again and let out a soft, shaking sob. "Will, help me!" She begged, not sure what she really expected him to do... She just had no other options. She wasn't going to be fixing this herself.

"Stop! She's not kidding." Will's voice shook. "I called the police... Must have been a half an hour ago. Forty minutes... Did you really expect we wouldn't call them? They'll be here literally any second."

"I told you not to." The man growled, tightening his fist near Karen's thigh so that his fingernails scratched against her skin as he pulled at her undergarment. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned in pain.

"It's not too late for you to go. We called the police. It's done... You can be here when they arrive, or you could leave." Will breathed. "You're going to jail if you stay... Especially if you keep doing what you're doing."

"Better go fast then, huh?" He breathed, letting go of Karen's wrists and grabbing her throat, squeezing hard as he used his other hand to pull her underwear down her thighs.

Karen choked out a breathless plea, using one of her hands to grab desperately at each of his. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears, felt cold fear seizing her heart, and may have heard Will's frantic screams, sounding much more far away than they actually were.

She struggled with her attacker as much as possible, managing to maintain a grip on her underwear enough to make it difficult for him to take them off, and grabbing at his hand around her throat to move his fingers back just far enough so that she could suck in a tiny, pained breaths.

As she continued fighting, desperately trying to breathe, she could almost swear she heard a knock on the door. Was that Will's voice she heard? The man on top of her was saying something too, wasn't he? He sounded mad. She felt like there was a rush of cold air in the room. So much commotion. Commotion that didn't make sense, like there were more people in here now.

Karen tried to force her eyes open, tried to focus on the noises surrounding her... But her head felt fuzzy. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, couldn't tell if any of the muffled sounds she was hearing were real or all in her head. Was she losing consciousness? Was she still holding onto his hands? Was he even touching her anymore? It didn't feel like his hand was around her throat. She didn't think she felt his weight on top of her either. Was she awake? Was she dead?

It wasn't until she felt herself being dragged up off the sofa that she finally opened her eyes. She was still shoving at the hands of whomever was pulling her up. She could hear her own frantic, shaking sobs... but once her eyes were finally open, she could see the person holding onto her wasn't her attacker. It was a woman... A woman in a police uniform.

Karen let out a small sob and grabbed at the woman, hugging her and clinging to her like this lady was Karen's best friend in the entire world.

"You're okay. You're safe." The lady's voice assured her as Karen felt the woman's hand on her back.

Karen finally pulled away and looked across the room at Will. She had to help get him untied. With shaking legs, she started toward him, stumbling slightly and blinking. She felt so disoriented. Had her attacker choked her too long? She hoped she wasn't going to pass out.

"Sit down." The cop instructed, putting her hands on Karen's shoulders and helping her lower herself back onto the couch. "Focus on breathing. We've called for back up. Your friend's going to be fine. We're getting the man who attacked you squared away first and foremost."

"I have to help Will..." Karen shook her head, trying to stand back up.

"Miss, you need to stay sitting for now." The cop shook her head and pulled her gently but firmly back down.

Karen whimpered softly. "I've got to-" She peered over the woman's shoulder, toward Will, who was still tied up to the radiator.

"I'm okay, Karen. Just stay sitting... Don't worry about me." Will called back to her, forcing a huge smile and nodding his head. "They're gonna get me untied. Don't worry. Just make sure you're breathing. Good, slow, deep breaths. Okay?"

Karen nodded as well, noticing her breaths were very shaky and quick. They kind of hurt too.

"You're fine." The cop persisted. "You're both going to be okay. Just breathe." She put her hand back on Karen's shoulder, rubbing very slightly. "Breathe." She reminded her again.

Karen closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing like the cop said. She couldn't stop shaking... but she was okay. Will was okay... They were going to be alright now.

**xxxxxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**xxxxxx**

**Chapter 5**

**xxxxxx**

Grace exhaled a small breath as she raised her hand up to knock lightly on the door to Karen's room at the ER. Will had called her about an hour ago saying he and Karen had gotten mugged and that they were headed here. He had assured her that they were both okay, but that the mugger had been pretty rough.

He kept calling her every ten or fifteen minutes until she arrived too, clearly agitated. He was mad that he and Karen had been put in separate rooms. That they wouldn't let him visit her yet. Grace tried to explain to him that they were probably just making sure each of them were okay before they let them go wherever they wanted, but he was still mad. Hopefully he'd calm down now that Grace and Jack had arrived. They were all here now. Karen wasn't going to be alone, Will wasn't going to be alone... Whatever they'd gone through, they could start healing.

On the way over, she and Jack had discussed who would visit whom since their two friends were still in separate rooms. Grace was actually more worried about Karen since she hadn't talked to her. She knew from her conversations on the phone with Will that he was alright. So she'd chosen to visit Karen, and sent Jack toward Will's room.

"Come in." Karen's voice was tiny as she called out.

"Hi." Grace forced a small smile as she opened the door just enough to slide inside, then closed it behind her.

She exhaled a relieved breath. Karen didn't look nearly as beaten up as Grace had feared. When Will was frantically explaining over the phone that the mugger was needlessly violent, Grace had feared the worst. Maybe Karen would be on a ventilator, bones broken, covered head to toe in bruises, cuts, bandages, casts. But she wasn't. She had a light bruise on her cheek, maybe some bruising on her neck... Definitely had some pretty dark bruises on both arms... but she looked more or less okay.

"They're gonna let me leave soon." Karen spoke up. "I guess I don't have any serious injuries. This whole thing was kind of blown out of proportion..." She laughed nervously. "The nurse says she's getting discharge paperwork. Then I can leave."

Grace nodded. "Good... You okay then?" She asked in a small voice, sitting lightly on the edge of Karen's bed and moving her hand close enough that Karen could take it if she wanted. Grace knew as well as anyone that Karen's emotions often went into hibernation. A normal person would want comfort from a friend after being mugged. Karen might not.

"Hopefully they'll let me leave with you even with you dressed like that." Karen nodded toward Grace. "You look unstable, Grace. You should really start to think about toning that down."

"Toning what down?" Grace looked down at herself. She was wearing a really cute dress. It wasn't daring or weird. It was very simple, and she thought classy. It was even neutral colors, no flashy pattern... It looked like something Karen might wear - sort of... close...

Karen looked disgusted as she looked Grace up and down and shook her head, refusing to further explain her fashion critique.

"Anyway..." Grace exhaled. "Are you alright?"

"I guess." Karen shrugged. "He took my necklace, but the cops took him, so I might get it back."

Grace let out a small laugh, but she didn't feel like what Karen said was funny. It was actually pretty sad. Karen had obvious bruises on her arms, neck, and cheek... and she was worried about a necklace? The woman had pretty much infinite money to replace it too.

"What happened?" Grace frowned. People got mugged in the city all the time, but Karen and Will were together. What kind of weird mugger robbed people in pairs? Why hadn't Will just punched this guy? How do you rob someone with their friend right next to them? That's two adult people you'd have to watch out for. Two different people who might lash out and attack you back. It sounded hard.

"Well, your husband and I were walking down the sidewalk - like the ones outside poor people use instead of cars... Our taxi broke down and he couldn't stand to wait for another... Why he chose to use a taxi in the first place is beyond me. I have a guy hired to drive me places. It's a whole person working to do exactly and only that, so- Oh my god... I hope somebody collected my shoes!" Karen cut herself off and suddenly stared ahead as though just remembering witnessing a murder.

Grace shook her head slightly as she stared down at her friend. "I'm sure someone did... Or you can buy new ones." She assured her.

Karen forced a small smile and looked down. "My poor tights got so ruined..."

"You can get new ones, Karen." Grace reminded her again. "Anything that got stolen or damaged, you can buy it again. What matters is that you're okay."

Karen narrowed her eyes and stared up at Grace. "I guess..." She looked deep in thought, as though the concept of material possessions being worth less than human life was a new one to her. "Yeah... That's true, Grace... That's why I let him take that stuff. So he wouldn't kill me. I think you're right..."

"Yeah." Grace nodded. "It's more important to keep yourself safe than worry about necklaces and shoes and money."

Karen looked down at her lap and fiddled with her fingers.

Grace followed her friend's gaze, noticing a lot of the bruises on Karen's arms were concentrated near her wrists, like someone had grabbed her there, really hard, more than once. Grace swallowed, wondering if she was pressing too hard on these issues. It was good to talk about trauma... but it wasn't good to force it. She wasn't being too forceful, was she? She had asked Karen for more details already, more than once... And Karen didn't exactly tell her she didn't want to talk about it. She just got sidetracked. Grace wondered if she should ask again, or just leave it alone. Karen would talk in her own time if she wanted to... and if she didn't, maybe that was her choice and that was okay.

"I did what he said, Grace..." Karen spoke up in a tiny voice. Grace noticed now that it was a bit weaker than normal... almost strained.

Grace looked up into Karen's eyes to find the other woman staring right back. Her eyes looked scared. She stuck her lower lip out in a pout and continued. "At first I fought back. I didn't want him taking my purse... But he had a knife, so I just let him take whatever he wanted. Like you said... Because being safe is more important than money. I let him take it. I stopped fighting, even though I wanted to keep fighting. It's my purse. Not his."

Grace inhaled a sharp breath and stared silently back. That explained how he managed to rob two people - why Will didn't just punch him. He probably threatened to stab one or both of them.

"But he took everything I had, everything Will had... Which was like five dollars... And he still wouldn't leave." Karen whispered. "I did what he said. I did the smart thing - just let him take my money and my necklace, so he'd leave and not hurt us... But he wouldn't leave. He wasn't satisfied yet. He started grabbing me... You know, like a straight man does... Like he thinks he can just do whatever he wants. Like he thinks squeezing boobs like they're play-doh is sexy?"

Grace shook her head slightly, understanding Karen's strange way of explaining this and hating what she was hearing.

"Anyway, I started panicking. I'm not into dirty muggers, and if I were, I wouldn't be into them like that. Do men really think just grabbing your chest and squeezing like you're trying to tear 'em off is sexy? No one likes that..." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, that's when your boyfriend got mad and shoved him off of me... I thought I was gonna die. Thought Will was gonna die... But Will must have scared the guy, because he left." Karen shrugged.

Grace nodded, but frowned. This story was incomplete. Will said something about the man attacking them and then following them and doing it again. That's how he ended up being arrested, because the second time was after Will had called the police. The police came while the guy was still there. Karen hadn't mentioned any of that yet.

"He followed us." Karen forced a tight-lipped smile. "I didn't know, but I guess he was watching as Wilma and I went to that building we were going to originally. While we were there, we decided to call the police. But we were in the poor part of town, and the police took like an hour to get there. To be fair, it wasn't necessarily an emergency at that point, right?"

Grace shook her head. It was an emergency. A violent guy with a knife was still in the area. The police should have wanted to find him as soon as possible so he didn't hurt anyone else. "They should have come faster." Grace noted.

Karen shrugged. "Well... They didn't. And the guy came back... He made me tie Will up, and I thought he was going to take me to the ATM for more money... Leave Will there so I had a reason to cooperate. That's what he said he was going to do." Karen looked back down at her hands, seemingly noticing Grace's hand nearby and reaching toward it. She didn't look back up though. "That's not what he did." She whispered.

Grace swallowed and squeezed Karen's hand in her own.

"He pushed me onto the couch, and he held my arms down and started putting his hands all over me, Grace..." She whispered. "Like even more rough that the boob-play-doh thing he did before. He was grabbing me so hard. Straight men don't know how to do that right, Grace. I mean, even not considering the fact that I didn't want to do it at all - he was just grabbing, squeezing... Maybe he was trying to hurt me on purpose. There's no way he wasn't, right? You're not that rough unless you're trying to hurt someone..." She trailed off.

"Karen, I'm so sorry..." Grace whispered, squeezing her friend's hand. Karen seemed to be trying to make light of this, to an extent, but what she was saying was heartbreaking. Karen could be so cruel and rude sometimes, but she was also sweet and innocent in her own way. And she was tiny, really. She had a huge, imposing presence, but she was pretty small physically. The thought of some horrible, huge man pinning her down and forcing himself on her made Grace want to throw up.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault, Honey." Karen's voice was small as she still refused to look up to meet Grace's eyes. Her lower lip trembled slightly as though she was trying her best to maintain her composure and hold back her tears. "But he was really mean... Really forceful - probably hurting me on purpose. He was getting madder and madder."

Grace shook her head and exhaled. "I wish I could do something..." She whispered. "I don't know what to say, Karen..."

"He didn't..." Karen's words caught in her throat for a moment as she inhaled a steadying breath and looked back up into Grace's eyes. "He didn't..." She said again, shaking her head. "If you're worried that he might have..."

"He didn't rape you?" Grace blurted, noticing Karen couldn't bring herself to say the word. Her chest felt so cold. She didn't want to ever have to ask Karen that question.

"No... He didn't..." Karen whispered. "He tried. He pulled my tights down, and kept going... But I guess the cops got there about then. He was choking me... I couldn't breathe... I couldn't focus on anything. He was trying to..." Karen looked down and swallowed nervously, squeezing Grace's hand tighter.

"It's okay, Karen." Grace whispered, squeezing Karen's hand back. "You're safe now."

Karen nodded, then blinked a few times and shook her head. "So that was it..." She said in a tiny voice, forcing a smile even with tears shining in her eyes.

Grace stared at her. She looked so small, so young, so scared. Her eyes were wide, dark, brimming with unshed tears. It wasn't fair that this had happened to her. "Can I hug you?" Grace choked through her own tears threatening to fall.

Karen nodded slightly, sniffing back tears.

Grace reached out and put her arms around Karen, pulling her close, but being mindful that Karen might have more bruises under the hospital gown she was wearing.

"I was really scared, Grace..." Karen whispered in a shaking voice as she finally let her tears fall.

"I know..." Grace whispered back, rubbing her hand over Karen's upper arm. "I would have been too."

"He had that knife... I just didn't want to die... But I didn't want him to do the other thing either..." Karen sniffed, hugging Grace tighter. "The cops finally came... but it took them almost an hour... Will was tied up. That man was much stronger than me. I wouldn't have gotten away on my own."

Grace nodded slightly. It was bullshit the cops took so long.

Karen inhaled a shaking breath as her words were becoming broken up more with shaking sobs. "I didn't want him to kill Will..." She whimpered.

"I know... God, Karen..." Grace shook her head, hugging Karen close. "That must have been terrifying."

"It was... Will saved me..." Karen sniffed. "The first time... The guy still had a knife, but Will attacked him anyway. Will could have died. He risked his life to get him off of me."

Grace smiled slightly, but could feel tears running down her own cheeks. She was glad Will had been there to help... But this whole situation was so scary. She could have lost two of her very best friends tonight. A man would have to have something seriously wrong with him to jump out and rob two people in the street. He would have to be desperate for some reason or another - maybe desperate enough to kill. He could have killed them both, especially after he had gotten Will tied up. He could have done whatever he wanted to Karen, and then killed her, then Will...

"And he saved me the second time too. Maybe he doesn't know..." Karen noted between soft, shaking sobs. "I didn't want to call the police."

"What?" Grace pulled back slightly, but Karen hugged her tighter and leaned back in. "Why not?"

Karen breathed in and out shaking, tearful breaths. "He said he knew me... That he'd come back..." She sobbed. "But he came back anyway. He didn't know we called. He came back anyway."

"You didn't do anything wrong. Either way. Calling the cops or not... This guy put you in a terrible position." Grace explained. Obviously it was smart to call the cops after something like this, but if he threatened Karen, Grace understood why the other woman didn't want to risk it.

"I'm glad Will was there..." Karen whispered. "If he hadn't called the cops, no one would have come and stopped him."

Grace closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against Karen's hair. She was glad Will and Karen were together during this too. Of course, it would have been best if neither of them had to suffer through it, but at least it wasn't just one of them, alone.

Karen exhaled and relaxed in Grace's arms, allowing her sobs to dissolve into soft breaths and sniffles before finally pulling back, wiping her cheeks with her hands, and smiling slightly. "Thanks for talking to me, Grace." She whispered.

Grace nodded. "Thank you for telling me what happened. You can always talk to me. You know that, right? Now, later... Always."

Karen smiled. "Thanks. There is one other thing..." Her brow furrowed. "Something confusing."

"What?" Grace frowned.

"Well, that guy said me and Will looked like Batman's parents." Karen let out a small laugh, but still frowned as though utterly lost. "Who is that? Batman? What does that mean?"

"Batman." Grace repeated. "You know..."

"Like half bat, half man? Was he saying I look like a bat? Will would be the man in this equation, right?" Karen frowned. "He said he thought we'd have more money because we looked like Batman's parents... Don't ask me." She shrugged and laughed. "Guess where he comes from, bats are rich... They have sex with men and have bat-man hybrid babies. I don't..." She trailed off.

Grace couldn't help but to let out a loud laugh. "Are you kidding?" She stared back at her friend.

"No, Honey... He said it. I didn't." Karen stared back with wide eyes, clearly very serious.

"Okay... Karen... Batman is a fictional character. A comic book character." Grace explained. Karen still looked confused. "He's rich and his parents got killed when he was a child... They got robbed in an alley."

"Well, you seem to know an awful lot about this man-bat..." Karen frowned.

"Batman, Karen. Surely you've seen him on tv or... just anywhere. Everyone knows Batman..." Grace frowned. "He wears a mask and a cape. Fights crime. Batman and Robin?"

"Oh..." A look of realization emerged on Karen's face and she nodded. "Right..." She winked. "Robin... I know about Robin. But wouldn't that make Will not Batman's parent, but Robin's daddy?"

"Oh my god, Karen..." Grace shook her head and rolled her eyes. She pulled Karen into another hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Grace." Karen hugged her back, resting her cheek on the other woman's shoulder. Grace leaned her own cheek against Karen's hair again and closed her eyes.

**xxxxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**xxxxxx**

**Chapter 6**

**xxxxxx**

Will exhaled as he looked up at the clock. It had been two hours since he and Karen had gotten to the ER, and thirty minutes since Jack had arrived - with Grace, though Will hadn't actually seen her yet. He assumed she was with Karen, which was good. Karen needed to have someone with her right now. Her part of this ordeal had been so much more terrifying than Will's.

"Do you want me to get the nurse again?" Jack frowned, looking way too serious.

Will stared back at him. Jack wasn't supposed to be serious. Karen wasn't supposed to be serious. This whole night felt unreal. Will shook his head. "No... She said she was getting the discharge paperwork around. It can't take too long, right?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders.

It was ridiculous that they were still keeping them in separate rooms. Will had barely even been hurt. He was basically just a witness to all of this... Though he knew full well that he had every right to deny medical treatment, he wanted to do this right - so that they could charge this guy with everything they could possibly charge him with. That meant Will's injuries needed to be documented too, even if they did mostly just consist of scuffs and cuts around his wrists where the ropes dug into his skin.

"If you want to go see Karen, that's fine." Will grumbled.

"No. I'm staying with you." Jack persisted. Will knew his friend wanted to visit Karen as well. He was being overly nice staying with Will instead. "They'll discharge you any minute now. Then we'll go check in on Karen together."

Will nodded slightly. He hadn't really told Jack that many details about what had happened. He sort of felt it wasn't his place to. So much of it was Karen's trauma. He didn't feel right sharing it without asking her. But he did feel like he was being kind of mean to Jack in a way that wasn't fair. Jack had questions, whether he was asking them or not. Will felt bad being so quiet and pissed off right now when Jack only wanted to be supportive.

All he had told Jack was that a man with a knife robbed them, that he threatened them with the knife, and that he was violent - particularly with Karen - but that she was okay. He could tell Jack wanted to know more, but for once the younger man seemed to realize that it wasn't the time to be too pushy with his questions. It was actually quite unsettling to see Jack so still, so quiet.

Will stared down at his shoes. He was ready to go. They hadn't even made him change into the hospital gown since his only injuries were around his wrists. They cleaned and bandaged those, talked to him and wrote down a lot - a cop was in here earlier - and then they told him they were going to come back with discharge paperwork.

"Do you want me to ask if they can get you a water or something?" Jack asked.

Will looked over at Jack, who was sitting on the end of the bed, fidgeting with his fingers. He looked like a nervous child. It made a bit of Will's frustration melt away. He felt bad all over again - this time for being short with Jack, who was trying to be supportive.

"I'm sorry, Jack... I'm sorry I'm being such a jerk." Will frowned, shaking his head and exhaling a frustrated breath.

"That's okay..." Jack forced an overly cheerful smile. "You're always like this."

Will let out a small laugh. He wondered if he should tell Jack more. The younger man just wanted to help. As long as he wasn't too descriptive about Karen, surely she wouldn't mind. There was a lot that happened. A lot to process. Will had felt so scared... He felt guilt, powerlessness... He shouldn't have to keep that to himself.

"Jack..." Will hesitated.

"Yeah?" Jack looked nervously toward his friend.

Will shook his head. "I feel really guilty." He finally blurted.

"Oh..." Jack frowned and looked down. "Why's that?" He looked back up.

Will exhaled tiredly, closing his eyes for a moment, pressing his fingertips against his temple. He had a pretty noticeable stress headache by this point. "Karen didn't want to walk... We were going to that apartment building she owns. The one with all the code violations. I was going to help her decide what to do about it - make repairs, tear it down, sell it... Just something so she didn't get sued."

Jack nodded. "She owns quite a few buildings that need to be torn down." He noted.

"Yeah... Well, we were going to one of them. Our taxi broke down, so we walked the rest of the way. She didn't think it was safe, but I insisted, because it wasn't far... I thought she was being ridiculous claiming to be scared. You know how she's kind of over-the-top sometimes... Exaggerates. Claims to be terrified of certain fabrics or orange juice without vodka in it. I thought she was being like that... Saying she was scared to walk just because she considered using a sidewalk like everyone else was too ordinary for her. So we walked, even though she was scared... And then that guy grabbed her. It's my fault." Will looked down.

"No." Jack disagreed, scooting over on the bed. "It's not. It's the guy's fault. It's a sidewalk, Will. You're allowed to walk on it without being robbed."

"I know, but it was reckless." Will frowned.

"Couldn't anything be considered reckless then?" Jack shrugged. "Getting in a car - you could be in an accident. Same with a plane... Going into a building. There could be a fire. Elevators? They could stop working. Or break and crash down twenty floors and crush you to death. Don't even get me started on escalators."

"That's not the s-" Will started.

"It is the same, Will. It's the same. Sidewalks are there for people to walk on. You couldn't have known that using a sidewalk the way sidewalks are intended to be used would have resulted in this. It's not your fault." Jack insisted.

"He was so rough with her." Will stared down at the floor, remembering being tied to the radiator, having to sit there, trapped, while that gross, horrible man hurt his friend. He should have never allowed himself to be tied up. That was stupid. It was naive and stupid. Of course he was getting Will out of the way so he could hurt Karen. How could Will have not foreseen that? It was so obvious.

"But she's okay. You're okay." Jack reminded him. "Neither of you knew that was going to happen. You would have never gone outside at all if you knew. It happened. There are awful people in the world, so it happened... But it's over now, and you'll both be okay."

Will nodded. But he still felt guilty. Karen didn't want to walk. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have been out walking on that sidewalk. The guy who attacked them would have never even seen them.

"Jack, he followed us... He attacked us in the alley, then we got away... And he followed us. We went to the apartment to talk about calling the police, because she didn't want to. She was scared. He threatened to come back if we went to the police." Will told his friend.

"Did you call them?" Jack wondered.

"Yeah, but he didn't know that. He followed us and attacked us again - attacked her again." Will frowned. "It wasn't about me... I was just there."

"So what did he do that time? He already robbed you... What else did he want?" Jack frowned, furrowing his brows.

Will raised his own eyebrows as he stared back at his friend. Did Jack really not know? Could he not guess? What would a big, hulking, violent, immoral man want with a tiny, defenseless woman he'd already robbed? Jack couldn't connect the dots?

With an exhale, Will closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course it was obvious now, but Will honestly hadn't wanted to believe it either. When the man said he was going to take Karen to the ATM, Will had believed him. The other possibility was in the back of his mind... He hadn't completely discounted that... but he was hoping that wasn't why the man came back - maybe hoping more than believing, but hope was enough to make him naive about the whole thing. Naive enough to really put Karen at serious risk by cooperating instead of giving fighting back his all.

"Will?" Jack's eyes looked legitimately scared. Maybe he did have a good idea of the man's intentions. Maybe he was merely hoping he was wrong too - not wanting to speak his greatest fear aloud. "What did he do?"

Swallowing, Will licked his lips and continued. Jack deserved to know - at the very least that it wasn't as bad as he probably feared.

"He told me to go to the ATM for more money. Said he'd stay with Karen." Will shook his head. "I wasn't going to let that happen... So he said he'd tie me to the radiator and take Karen to the ATM instead... I know I was stupid to believe that... He still had the knife... I just didn't want Karen to get hurt - or me..."

"You didn't have a choice, Will... If he was threatening you guys with a knife..." Jack whispered.

Will forced a small smile. "So... He tied me up. He had Karen do it, but he tightened the ropes after... Then I was stuck there, and he shoved Karen down and wouldn't let her up..." Will's throat felt tight. "He didn't get as far as he wanted to, Jack... I... I don't know if I can say it... He tried, but he didn't get as far as he wanted. The cops got there just in time."

"Oh my god, Will..." Jack frowned.

"She's okay... She was shaken up when I talked to her last, but definitely calming down... She's alright. But it was a big deal. It's still a big deal... And I feel responsible." Will frowned.

"No. You're not responsible for this, Will." Jack shook his head.

"But I am..." Will disagreed. "I was no help at all. I let him tie my hands up - to a radiator - so I couldn't get up. Couldn't help her. He had her pushed down against the couch. He was grabbing all over her, choking her. He could have killed her - maybe not even on purpose, but he could have. If the cops didn't come when they did-"

"So you saved the day then - if you called the police, and they came... and that's what stopped him." Jack surmised. "Don't get all self-loathing on me, Will. You did everything you could, and if the cops were what saved you and Karen, then you can't claim you did nothing. The cops wouldn't have ever known to come if not for you."

Will forced a small smile. "I guess." He shrugged. That didn't erase the fact that it was his fault they were ever outside in that part of town in the first place. He got them out of trouble, yes, but he got them into it as well. That, and he shouldn't have ever agreed to let his hands be tied up. He should have tackled the guy to the ground. Knife or no knife, he shouldn't have trusted that the man was just going to tie him up and not hurt Karen. Of course he was going to hurt Karen. Will was stupid to ever think cooperating at that point would do them a damn bit of good.

Jack inhaled and exhaled a long, calming breath, then focused back on Will. "Don't go neglecting yourself here either. What happened Karen was scary and awful, but you were there too. You had to have been terrified... And your poor wrists." Jack stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

Will couldn't help but to let out a small laugh. He looked down at his wrists and rotated them slightly under the bandages wrapped around them. "They'll be fine." He dismissed Jack's concern.

"And he robbed you guys. That's gotta be frustrating." Jack noted. "I mean, of course your own physical safety is more important, but I hate it - absolutely hate it - when someone steals from me. Are the cops gonna get your money back at least?"

Will shrugged. "I had like thirty dollars."

"Well, still..." Jack's eyes were huge. "You know how many lattes that is?"

"Like six?" Will frowned.

"That's six too many for that bastard." Jack stared. "He doesn't deserve to keep that money."

"He's not... I mean, I'm guessing either I'll get it back or he snorted it up his nose between the alley and the apartment." Will figured.

"How do you snort thirty dollars up your nose?" Jack narrowed his eyes.

"By buying drugs with it, Jack. I'm guessing he bought cocaine or something. He was crazy." Will explained.

"Oh... Right. So... What did this creep look like? Do you now his name or anything?" Jack wondered.

Will shook his head. "I'm sure I'll find out his name eventually. He was just a regular guy. Looked kinda nervous and wound up. Probably on drugs."

Jack nodded with wide eyes. "I know someone like that."

Will scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Is it Karen?" He joked.

"Well, no... She's probably on drugs too, but I don't consider her to be that nervous and wound up..." Jack shrugged.

"Is it you?" Will smirked.

Jack smiled too. "Will... I'm not on drugs."

"But you are nervous..." Will reminded him.

Jack gasped. "And wound up!" He noted.

Will shook his head and exhaled. "This guy was wound up in a way that was more scary than annoying. Not like you. Not like he'd had too much caffeine... But like he was on-edge. Ready to stab someone if they looked at him wrong."

"Like you then." Jack nodded.

Will smiled slightly. "Kind of." He laughed, appreciating Jack's attempt to bring humor to this situation. As annoying as the man was sometimes, Will could tell his humor was at times very strategic. He was smarter than people gave him credit for.

"Do you want to get lattes after this?" Jack wondered. His mind clearly got stuck once he'd mentioned coffee two minutes ago.

"I want to go to sleep after this, Jack. It's like two o'clock in the morning." Will frowned.

"All the more reason to get coffee. I'll bet Karen would be up for it. A little Irish coffee for her?" Jack smirked, raising his eyebrows.

Will shook his head. "You got money?"

Jack hesitated. "That's kind of why I was wondering if the cops were getting your thirty dollars back." He smiled.

Will couldn't help but smile back as he grabbed the pillow off the bed and threw it at Jack, who shrieked, but caught it and laughed.

Jack suddenly looked a lot more serious than normal as he reached out and squeezed Will's hand. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Will. Karen's not gonna blame you. You did everything you could. This situation is messy, but you did what could to keep it calm, to keep Karen safe. And she can see that."

"You think?" Will squeezed Jack's hand back.

"Sure. Karen can be a cold-hearted, vengeful lunatic who blames everyone but herself for anything and everything that goes wrong..." Jack started.

Will stared, waiting for him to finish. "...and?"

"That's it... She's nuts." Jack smirked.

Will rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"She loves you, Will. She doesn't like to show it, but... You know how Grace and I are. Sometimes Karen needs someone dependable... an actual mature adult. She has fun with me and Grace, goofing off, being childish... She'd kill me if she knew I told you this, but you're a pretty big deal to her." Jack explained.

"You think so?" Will couldn't help but to smile. He really cared about Karen too. She seemed so cold and cruel sometimes, but she had a good heart. Deep down, she was a sweetheart, and she got scared and hurt sometimes just like anyone else.

"Of course." Jack nodded, offering a very genuine smile.

"Thanks, Jack." Will smiled back. He hoped all that was true... He could guess that it just might be. Karen didn't spend time with people if she didn't like them, and she always came to Will with any real problem she had.

Thinking about this kind of made Will feel even worse about tonight though. If what Jack said was true, Karen depended on Will to deal with too-real stuff in her life - the hectic stuff, legal, scary, confusing, grown up stuff... And he had let her down.

**xxxxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**xxxxxx**

**Chapter 7**

**xxxxxx**

"I can't wear this, Honey." Karen shook her head as she held up a horrible, fleece pajama top Grace had offered to lend her. It came with an equally awful matching pair of pants. They looked scratchy and uncomfortable. Even just pinching the garments between her thumb and fingers to hold them out for Grace to take them away from her was a little excruciating. It felt like they were trying to be soft, but ended up just feeling like the bad kind of bath towels.

Grace exhaled and grabbed the pajamas back, returning to her room to find something else, likely something equally hideous and unwearable.

Karen settled back on the couch and watched Grace go. The younger woman acted surprised that Karen wouldn't wear any of her rags, but Karen couldn't see how any of this would be shocking. She wasn't even almost drunk enough to wear these K-Mart clothes.

With a soft exhale, Karen leaned back and laid her head on Jack's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close, but didn't say anything. She and Jack were situated on the couch while Will sat at the dining table. Will was still being pretty quiet. He seemed preoccupied. Everyone else seemed content to pretend everything was fine now... Which it kind of was. Beyond dwelling on things that they couldn't change, what else was there to do but move on?

"What about these?" Grace spoke as she re-entered the room. She handed Karen a t-shirt and pajama shorts.

Karen grimaced. "Are they from Walmart, Grace?" She gasped.

"No..." Grace scowled, looking down and speaking in a small voice. "Target..."

Karen shook her head and frowned. She couldn't bring herself to wear any of the things Grace offered. That wasn't surprising to her... but Grace seemed annoyed by it. Did she honestly expect Karen to wear any of this garbage? How were these fabrics even legal?

Grace stood with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at Karen, who continued to reject every article of clothing Grace offered for her to wear tonight, as Karen didn't want to go home, and had chosen to spend the night here. Explaining this to Rosario or anyone else so late sounded so exhausting. She'd had enough mental anguish just repeating it to Grace. She hadn't even told Jack... Though from how he was acting, she guessed Will had.

"I don't have anything you're going to like, Karen." Grace frowned. "You make fun of my clothing literally every day, so I don't know what you want..."

Karen shrugged. "I'll just stay in this."

"Your tights are torn." Jack noted, nodding up toward her chest. "And your shirt."

Karen frowned as she looked down. That was true... It was kind of an upsetting reminder of everything. She didn't want to keep wearing this.

She swallowed as she fought to blink back tears before looking up again. "Just... Give me something that won't cause my skin to combust, I guess." She said in a small voice, unable to mask all of her emotions as well as she would have liked.

"Will, can she wear something of yours?" Grace asked, looking a little less annoyed than she had before. Maybe she caught on that Karen was close to tears.

"Of course." Will shrugged.

"I'll go look for something too." Jack offered, jumping excitedly up off the couch. "We'll make it into a contest, Grace. Find your top five pajama combinations - yours or Wills. I'll do the same across the hall. Winner gets to sleep in your bed."

"I'm sleeping in my bed." Grace glared at him.

"Not if I find a better outfit!" Jack laughed and ran out into the hall.

Grace stared back at Karen and Will with her mouth hanging open. "He lives across the hall. His bed is right there. Why does he want to steal mine?"

"Better find something good." Karen shrugged. She looked over toward Will as Grace stomped angrily away, toward Will's bedroom. "That'll keep 'em busy for twenty minutes at least." She noted.

Will smiled slightly, probably feeling the same way Karen did right now - that their well-meaning friends were being a little too clingy. She didn't need a babysitter. She just needed to not have to explain this to anyone else for a while. She just needed a place to exist, calmly, without questions. She was betting Will felt the same.

She frowned as Will stood from the dining table and walked over to the couch, sitting next to her. He turned toward her and stared, looking quite nervous, really.

"What..." Karen bit her lip. "What are you doing? We're not having like a heart-to-heart or something are we? I'm fine. You're fine. Let's just shut up about it..." She shrunk down slightly.

"I don't want to drag this out or anything..." Will spoke in a low voice. He looked really sad. "I just... I feel bad. I feel like I'm partially to blame for this, and I'm really sorry."

Karen felt her shoulders slump. "What?" She frowned.

She didn't want to talk about this... but did Will really blame himself? That was ridiculous. Will was the reason she was here right now and not dead in an alley... Or tied down to a couch with some freak molesting her. How on Earth could he blame himself for what happened when he was the only reason she'd managed to escape from it?

"I'm the one who suggested we walk. You said you didn't want to. I insisted... And we were out there for that sicko to find us." Will explained.

Karen shook her head, turning in her seat, drawing her feet up onto the cushion so she could face Will more fully. "It was just chance, Will. It could have happened to anyone. You can't predict stuff like this."

"You said it was a bad neighborhood. You said walking wasn't safe." Will went on.

"Okay... So... What other alternative did we have, Will? I suggested calling Driver. Or another taxi... So... Then what? We would have stood out in the dark waiting on our ride? This guy wanted to steal from someone, wanted to hurt someone... We happened to be there. It's his fault, not yours, not mine. His." Karen explained, noticing Will's hands in his lap. There were bandages wrapped around his wrists.

She glanced up toward his eyes. He was looking down. "Will?" Karen whispered. "Please don't feel bad..."

Will looked up and shrugged slightly, clearly unable to stop blaming himself for this. "He hurt you. He tried to do a lot worse. I couldn't stop him."

"Yes you did, Will. And he hurt you too." She nodded toward his hands, reaching her fingers out and running them over one of the bandages. "If that doesn't prove you did everything you could to stop him... Will, you nearly cut your own hands off trying to help me... I appreciate that."

"So you don't blame me?" Will looked up at her, appearing so uncertain. "I made you walk when you weren't comfortable walking..."

She shook her head. "I don't blame you. If anything, I credit you with saving me from him. Twice. That motherfucker had a knife, Will. He could have stabbed you, and you lunged at him. Pushed him off of me. Threatened to fight him. While he had a knife!"

"Yeah... Then I took us to a building with no locks and left us open for him to attack us again." Will frowned.

"I'm the one who didn't install locks!" Karen laughed. "I'm the one who wouldn't have called the police! Will, if I was out there by myself, I'd probably have my throat cut in that alley. I wasn't getting away from him anytime soon. I was paralyzed in fear." She laughed, not entirely sure why she was laughing at the moment, but allowing herself to continue. "I wouldn't have tried to fight. Or I would have at the wrong time. He would have killed me." She forced a tight smile and nodded.

Will closed his eyes and exhaled.

"We'll just be more careful... Sell that building... Or just condemn it. Don't officially let anyone rent it. Let the homeless have it... We'll stay out of the hellish nightmare part of the city. Problem solved." Karen suggested.

"I guess..." Will shrugged.

"You're my hero, Wilma." Karen whispered, turning back to face forward and leaning against Will's shoulder. And he truly was.

The situation they'd gotten into tonight couldn't be blamed on anyone but their attacker. It was bad luck. Blaming anyone for it would be the same as blaming a car accident on leaving the house at the wrong time. Sometimes bad things happened and there was nothing anyone could do to avoid it. They couldn't have known this guy was lurking out there... But he was, and he cornered them, threatened them, robbed them, hurt them... They couldn't go back in time and choose not to be in the area. It wasn't anything they did wrong. It was just something that happened. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Will being there saved Karen from so much worse. That man was going to rape her... Maybe he would have killed her too. Will made sure he didn't. It wasn't perfect. He didn't stop the guy dead in his tracks immediately, but through the whole thing, Will did everything possible to get them through the ordeal. He really was her hero. And not only tonight. Will helped her solve almost any real problem she ever had. He was one of the few people she could count on in life.

"I don't say it enough..." Karen spoke up. "Or ever... And I won't now..." She trailed off, hoping Will would understand how much she cared about him without her having to say it. She wasn't good with emotions. She loved and appreciated Will so much, but she couldn't just say that to him. She leaned further against him, laying her head against his shoulder as the rest of what she was thinking, almost wanting to say, got caught in her throat. She couldn't get sappy. It wasn't in her nature.

"I love you too, Karen." Will put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close as Karen smiled, closed her eyes, and let herself relax against him. He was a good friend. Probably better than she could ever deserve. And she hoped he knew it.

**xxxxxx**

**THE END**

**xxxxxx**


End file.
